FedEx Cup 2012: Tour Championship Will Mark Playoff's Rise to Prominence

FedEx Cup action: it's fantastic!

This is a fact that has never crossed my mind until this year, but then again, this playoff didn't deserve the hyperbole until this year. In it's sixth year of existence, the FedEx Cup has finally provided the star-studded drama it needed to capture the imagination of fans in a sport that is steeped in tradition. 

Golf has spent a century measuring the greatness of players almost solely based on their performances in majors. It was what every top golfer geared their season and swings for, and when the PGA Championship passed in August, the season had little left to offer but inconsistent appearances from the tour's best as that season came to a close. 

To help their season maintain relevance as it drew to a close, the PGA devised a playoff with a lucrative prize awaiting the winner. The winner gets $10 million this year, ensuring that most top players would circle the four playoff tournaments on their calendar, but gaining a foothold with the public was going to take some time.

But this year, with a riveting playoff like we now have culminating at the next and final leg of this playoff, the Tour Championship, fans have ample reason to care. 

For starters, Rory McIlroy, after two straight tournament wins, is in first and Tiger Woods is right behind him in second. 

McIlroy has a big lead in points, but after tweaks to the rules over the years, the format has been tweaked so that all 30 remaining golfers have a shot to win the title heading into the final tournament, and any of the players in the top five can win the title if they win the Players Championship. 

After McIlroy and Woods, the top five consists of Nick Watney, Phil Mickelson and Brandt Snedeker (check out the full standings here). 

This sets the stage for three of the greatest players to ever pick up a club, namely McIlroy, Woods and Mickelson, to enter the next tournament essentially in a head-to-head battle, and there is a veritable who's who of golf ready to claim that prize should either of those guys have the slightest slip. 

Having won two straight, McIlroy is the clear favorite, but that is part of what is so enticing. The question lingers: Can the old guard in Tiger and Phil catch the new young gun? Or will this be just another example by Rory that his era has begun. 

This is exactly the kind of drama the FedEx Cup needed to entrench itself as a meaningful event in golf.